Ban the Smoke! Moving Towards a Ban on Cigarettes

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Banning the Smoke

Smoking cigarettes has been a huge public health issue in America for many years. They should be banned for they’ve caused many people their lives. The United States government along with other countries like the UK have moved towards a ban on cigarette smoking in public places. Defender of this approach argue that smoking cigarettes cause health risks for non-smokers. This may lead to a major economic consideration for Tobacco is the second major cause of mortality in the world. “[Tobacco] imposes a terrible toll in health, lives and dollars on families, business and government. Tobacco kills more than 400,000 people annually — more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.”

Measures to control the demand and supply of tobacco products as well as to protect public health has been issued. Some of the health effects associated with smoking cigarettes are: lung cancer, lower respiratory problems, tract infections, asthma, cardiovascular disease, eye and nasal irritation, and low birth weight in babies of nonsmokers. For every eight smokers who die each year from tobacco use in the United States, one nonsmoker will die from the harmful gasses of passive smoking. In light of scientific evidence, there is no justification for the continuation of the most deadly of all the cigarette flavors, menthol. The menthol flavor is the source of nearly half of all ten smokers’ addiction. Also, alarming is the occurrence of irregular tobacco related health issues among the minority. Racial and ethnic minorities, particularly African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of tobacco related diseases. The gases introduced into a humans body is made up of more than 7,000 chemicals, includ...

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...ing to Michael Pertschuk, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, "There's never been a health hazard so perfectly proven as smoking, and it is a measure of the council's success that it is able to create the illusion of controversy in what is so elegantly a closed scientific case.

Works Cited

Robsnon. John. “Smoker’s Rights.” Home. N.p., n.d, Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

Toll of Tobacco in the United States – “(The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.)” N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar, 2014.

"Tobacco and Health." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .

Zegart, D. "Breathing Fire on Tobacco." The Nation (September 4, 1995).

Michael Pertschuk "Lighting a Fire: How the FDA's Kessler, With Aid of Anti-Tobacco Crusaders, Moved to Regulation." Wall Street Journal (August 22, 1995).

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